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At the age of four, Bobby received his first pair of skates and immediately took to the ice. He was a natural and was therefore placed in leagues with kids older and bigger than he. Realizing this, Orr knew that he would have to develop his skills in order to overcome his size disadvantage. Every day after school, he skated from dawn till dusk, working on speed, agility, and his well-known fast spin. Bobby made himself quite well-known throughout the leagues as he progressed through the leagues. At the age of fourteen, Orr played in his leagues All-Star Game and it was there that the Bruins scouts first saw him. Later that year, Orr started playing for the Oshawa Generals, a Boston farm team. For the next four years, he played at an All-Star caliber, and this earned him his opportunity to move up to play for the Boston Bruins.

Orr received a $50,000 contract for two years and a $25,000 signing bonus. Bobby started off his incredible NHL career in 1966-67 season, wearing #27, but it was soon changed to his famous #4. Orr won the Calder Trophy as best rookie and in the 1967-68 season, won the Norris Trophy for being the league’s top defenseman. He did not relinquish this trophy for the next 8 years. Bobby’s first goal came against the Montreal Canadiens, and the roar of the crowd was deafening.

The following thirteen seasons marked the time in which Orr set almost every record possible for defensemen. Orr led the league in scoring twice, he remains the only player to ever do it even once. The most astounding statistic of his whole career may be his +/- ratio. Bobby Orr’s career +/- ratio was 597. His best season came in the 1970-71 season in which Orr achieved an NHL record that still stands of a +/- ratio of 124. Wayne Gretzky’s best +/- ratio was 98. Also, Bobby never recorded a negative +/- ratio for a season. From 1968-1975, Bobby served on the first All-Star team. He also won the Conn Smythe trophy in the 1970 and 1972 finals.

In the 1969-70 season, the Bruins managed to get themselves to the playoffs, and into the Stanley cup. The series went to 7 games, and about 40 seconds into overtime, Bobby Orr found himself with puck. He raced across the ice, right across the goal, then, at the last second, he flicked the puck and it got through and into the goal. Then, in a rare showing of celebration, Orr did his famous jump across the ice (pictured above). Again in 1972, Orr, shot the winning goal in the Stanley Cup Finals. Orr became the only player to win the Conn Smythe Trophy twice.

In 1976, due to his recurrent knee problems, and a crooked agent, Orr signed with the Chicago Blackhawks. However, he only played 26 games in a Blackhawk uniform. On 1978, in a tearful news conference, Orr announced he would hang up his skates. Thus the career of statistically the best defenseman of all time ended. The numerous accomplishments and records that Bobby Orr achieved makes his relatively short career one of the most amazing of all time.

Not only was Bobby Orr a great hockey player, but also had sterling character and kindness. There are some amazing examples of this. One is that he almost never celebrated after scoring a goal, he didn’t embarrass other players, he was simplay a graceful player. Another one of them was the fact that while playing for the Blackhawks, Orr returned the few paychecks he did receive, saying he didn’t earn them. But not only did his character show itself money wise. He spent time in hospitals visiting with sick children, and didn’t tell anyone about it. It wasn’t until someone spotted him and a nurse said he was there two or three times a week. Also, there is a story of a man leaving a Bruins game and his car had gotten stuck in the snow. Another man came up and helped him push the car out of the snow. That man was Bobby Orr.

On January 9, 1979, the Boston Bruins held “Bobby Orr Night”. When Orr was finally introduced, the crowd gave him a standing ovation for 11 minutes and would not let him speak. Finally, #4 was raised to the rafters. Also, in 1979, Bobby Orr was elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame. Orr, at 31, was and still is the youngest player ever elected to the Hall of Fame. The game certainly will never see another player with his heart, will, ability, and personality. He is greatly missed as both a player and person by the Boston Bruins.